Something He Never Expected
by Nathan Lane-Beatles Luvr
Summary: When his people kidnapped her, Ben never thought Layla would ever mean anything more to him than a hostage. But she does & she is something Benjamin Linus never expected. Ben/OC AN: sorry if Ben is a little out of character! this is my 1st Lost story. R&R


**I DON'T OWN LOST, THE CHARACTERS OF LOST, OR ANY AFFLIATIONS WITH LOST.**

"All right, I knew him," Ben said, after putting his shirt back on over the white T-shirt he had underneath. He walked over to where Ilana, Sun, Layla, and Frank were standing. They had just dug a grave for the body of John Locke, a man who would be missed by all.

Layla stood by Ben as he gave his little eulogy for John. "John Locke...was a believer. He was a man of faith. He was...a better man than I'll ever be." Here Layla slipped her hand in Ben's and squeezed it comfortingly. Frank raised his eyebrow at the young woman but said nothing. Everyone knew perfectly well how much Layla loved Ben. "And I'm very sorry I murdered him."

They all knew Layla loved him, but no one understood why. Layla was young, no more than 28 at the most whereas Ben was around 45 years old. Layla was extremely beautiful; she had bright green eyes that shone like the sun, a heartwarming smile that could charm anyone, including the normally stoic Benjamin Linus, she had dark brown hair that reached her shoulders when she didn't have it up in a ponytail like she did now, and to top it all off, she was sweet and kind; kinder than anyone Frank or Sun or any of the others had ever met.

So how could someone as wonderful and beautiful as Layla fall in love with a monster like Ben? No one knew but Ben and Layla and even then, Ben wasn't too sure. Layla knew exactly why she loved Ben, though.

In Layla's eyes, he was a genius. He was misunderstood, just like she had been all her life. Yes, she knew he was dangerous and manipulative, but she didn't care; Layla, unlike everyone else it seems, could see past Ben's faults and saw straight into the gentle and loving soul beneath his expressionless mask. He tried so hard to keep everyone at bay, to hide his emotions, and he was more than unnerved when this girl slipped past his defenses and saw him for what he was, who he was, and didn't run away. He was thrilled that she didn't turn tail and run like hell the other way the first chance she got, but it also confused him.

_Why? _he had thought. Why, indeed? Why would someone so innocent, so young, so _beautiful_ ever want anything to do with him, a middle-aged murderer who had long since forgotten what it was like to be loved?

The answer wasn't simple. Layla was a survivor of the Oceanic Airlines 815 plane crash. Ben's people had taken her hostage first chance they got, because she looked so weak and defenseless. They were very wrong, much to Ben's surprise. As it turned out, Layla was a third-degree black belt in both karate and Tai-Kwon-Do. She gave Ben's guys hell and it took a tranquilizer dart to get her down. For some odd reason, Ben liked the fact that she wasn't weak. It would make things much more interesting.

When she had met Ben for the first time, she didn't really like him and he wasn't surprised; nobody liked him, not really. People were just too terrified of him to defy him. But not Layla.

She hadn't given two shits who Ben was or if he was their leader, their water boy, or the freaking Queen of England. All she wanted were some bleeding answers. Another thing Ben liked about her. She was British, but not from London or anything. Nope, she was from Liverpool and had a heavy Liverpudlian accent. She wasn't afraid of him, not even in the slightest bit, not even when Ben held a gun to her head and told her that if she didn't do exactly what he said, he would kill her.

Looking back, Ben wouldn't have been able to do it, not really. She was far too beautiful and interesting for that. When he had threatened her, do you know what her answer was?

Her answer was this: "Then do it. Go ahead, kill me."

When Ben had hesitated with confusion (he had been expecting her to nod and be a good girl) she said, "You won't kill me, Benjamin. What would be the point? If you killed me, then you wouldn't have a hostage."

So, yes, Layla was his hostage and he kept it like that for awhile, never letting her out of his sight. She lived with him and Alex in his house and soon enough, she had become one of them. Alex absolutely loved Layla, too excited that she finally had another female around that had been her age not too long ago to care how her father had gotten her there. Soon enough, she was like a part of the family. Ben found he enjoyed her easy companionship and intelligence and clever wit that matched his own.

He wasn't sure exactly when it started, but he found himself falling for her before too long. During their time together, Ben learned a lot about her. He learned that back home, which was in fact Liverpool she was a renowned computer and forensic tech analyst, something that impressed him. When he questioned why she had been flying from Sydney to L.A., she told him that she had been at a forensic convention in Sydney and was flying to L.A. to see family that had immigrated there years prior. He also learned that her favorite type of music was rock'n'roll and her favorite band was The Beatles. He learned that her favorite color was green, especially neon green, and that she had a thing for guys with blue eyes.

This particular bit of information made him happy, mainly because that meant she was attracted to him on some level. However, when she found out that Ben had a tumor on his spine, and therefore cancer, she didn't flip out like he thought she would. No, instead, she took his hand in hers, which got his heart racing, and said, "It's okay, Ben. We'll get through this. I promise."

She hugged him then and to Ben, having her in his arms felt so right. When she released him, she placed both hands on either side of his face and looked straight into his eyes. She smiled and said, "Ben, it's okay to be scared, you know. It's allowed."

He smiled at her and swore he felt his heart stop for a few seconds as he really looked at her. The look in her green eyes was unmistakable; nothing but devotion and unequivocal love rested in her eyes. She was everything Ben had ever wanted and she loved him, really and truly loved him.

Ben was even more surprised when he saw a little lust in her eyes. _**She **__wants __**me**__!_ he thought happily. She leaned in ever so slowly and kissed him so gently. HIs heart swelled with joy and he responded eagerly, but when her arms went around his shoulders and she deepened the kiss, he swore his heart nearly burst. He pulled her as close to his as humanly possible by wrapping his arms around her waist and pressing her body to his.

When they separated, Layla quickly brushed her lips against his one more time before saying, "I love you, Benjamin Linus."

He smiled and said, "Say it again. I need to hear you say it again."

Ben closed his eyes as Layla leaned in and whispered very seductively into his ear, "I love you, Ben. You, and no one else."

"I love you, too, Layla. I don't know how you can love me but I am so glad you do."

Layla rolled her eyes and said, "You really have no idea how very sexy you are, do you?" Ben blushed and shook his head and Layla took his hand in hers and said, "Well, then, let me show you."

Layla lead him by the hand to his room and then Ben's wildest dreams all came true. And when Layla cried out his name in pure ecstasy, it was then that he realized that he was completely and totally in love with Layla and she was completely in love with him.

It didn't matter to her what his past was, or the fact that everyone thought he was a monster and a tyrant. It didn't matter what everyone else thought; she loved him. And she stood by him through it all; Alex's total hate for him, his cancer, Alex's death, every single mess he got into, she was always there. Every time someone beat the shit out of him, she was always there to clean him up. It seemed as though no matter what he did, she would always love him and that thought made him as happy as it did scare the hell of him.

So there they stood, together hand in hand, after everything. There they stood at Locke's grave on Boone Hill. Ben really and truly was sorry he murdered John and Layla knew that. Tears ran down her face and unlike Ben, she made no attempt to hide them. She heard a single sob escape Ben and put her arm around his waist as Frank started shoveling dirt into John's grave.

Later on that night, away from everyone, Ben broke down in Layla's arms.

"I-I-I'm s-such a s-screw-up, Layla. T-this i-is a-all my fault," he sobbed. Layla rubbed in back like she would a child and said, "No, it isn't Ben. This probably would have happened even if you hadn't killed John. It's okay."

Ben sat up and dried his tears. "How is it that you still love me? After everything?"

"Because I will always love you, no matter what, Ben. Forever and ever, babe."

Ben smiled at her and Layla kissed him softly. They laid down on the ground with their hands intertwined and then Layla turned on her side and put her head on Ben's shoulder and put one hand on his chest. Ben covered her hand with his own and the two of them just looked at the stars above them.

"I never thought that I would ever find someone who would even like me, let alone love me. Until I met you, anyway. You are my everything, Layla, and even though I can't promise you a whole lot, I can promise you that I will always love you. So, Layla, will do me the honor of becoming my wife?"

Layla looked at Ben as he reached into his pocket and pulled out a simple but very beautiful diamond ring. Ben looked at his beautiful Layla and she said, "Ben, where...how did you...?"

"It was my mother's. I found it in my father's possessions after...well, you know. I just held onto it. So what do you say?"

Layla leaned in and kissed Ben. She then whispered the one word Ben always wanted to hear against his lips. "Yes."

Ben slipped the ring on her finger and they went back to watching the stars. Ben smiled to himself when he saw one star twinkle extra bright. Maybe he was being overdramatic but he was pretty sure that was his mother's way of telling him that she approved of Layla. _I'm proud of you, Benjamin, _he thought he heard a voice in his ear say. _So am I, mum, despite everything, so am I._


End file.
